Device and method for active pressure regulation in rail vehicles

ABSTRACT

A device for active regulation of the internal vehicle pressure in a rail vehicle includes an aeration device for increasing the internal pressure in the rail vehicle, a ventilation device for reducing the internal pressure in the rail vehicle, and a measuring device for measuring the internal pressure in the rail vehicle. A control device is connected for signaling purposes at least to the ventilation device in order to reduce the internal pressure and to the measuring device, and the ventilation device for reducing the internal pressure can be controlled by the control device according to the internal pressure determined by the measuring device.

The invention relates to a device and a method for active pressure regulation in a rail vehicle.

The air conditioning system in a rail vehicle must perform different functions. Said functions include not only the treatment of incoming air to set a comfortable interior environment at the different seasons, but also the filtering of the external air. Moreover, the air conditioning system has to ensure that an adequate overpressure is set in the rail vehicle compared to the ambient pressure. 20 Pa to 50 Pa overpressure relative to the ambient pressure is considered to be an adequate overpressure here. The provision of a suitable overpressure is necessary in a rail vehicle in order to prevent unconditioned external air being able to enter into the interior through leaks of the rail vehicle and hence to adversely affect passenger comfort.

If too high an overpressure is provided in the rail vehicle, it can occur that the closing force of the external doors is not adequate to close the same against the internal pressure.

The internal vehicle pressure in a rail vehicle depends to a decisive extent on the sealing of the body of the rail vehicle. The sealing of the body of the rail vehicle is thereby especially dependent on the quality of assembly during manufacture, the adjustment of the external doors, the number of drainage openings and the quality and the condition of the seals in the individual vehicles. It is to be noted here that generally the quality and the condition of the seals is not constant across a fleet of vehicles.

Moreover, the air conditioning system has to maintain the internal vehicle pressure over the entire life cycle of the rail vehicle and make allowance for the different wear of the individual vehicles. During servicing of the rail vehicle, which is not necessarily carried out by the manufacturer of the rail vehicle, the external doors are adjusted a number of times more or less uniformly. This increases the wear on the seals which can become unsealed during the period of use until the next service, whereby the internal pressure of the rail vehicle is uncontrollably impaired.

The object of the present invention is therefore to specify a device and a method with which it is possible to ensure constant internal pressure within the rail vehicle over the entire life cycle of the vehicle, even with different sealing and variable wear of the seals.

This object is achieved with respect to the device by a device as claimed in claim 1. With respect to the method this object is achieved by a method as claimed in claim 5.

A device for active regulation of the internal vehicle pressure in a rail vehicle is thus proposed, comprising an aeration device for increasing the internal pressure in the rail vehicle, a ventilation device for reducing the internal pressure in the rail vehicle, a measuring device for measuring the internal pressure in the rail vehicle, which is characterized in that the same comprises a control device that is connected for signaling purposes at least to the ventilation device for reducing the internal pressure and the measuring device and the ventilation device for reducing the internal pressure can be controlled by means of the control device depending on the internal pressure determined by the measuring device.

The provision of ventilation according to the invention, which is regulated depending on the measured internal vehicle pressure in the rail vehicle, enables the maintenance of a desired overpressure in the interior of the vehicle, even if the leak, i.e. the discharge of interior air via leaks, is variable. If the leakage of the rail vehicle increases, e.g. as a result of a changed setting of the external doors or through wear of the seals, the pressure loss resulting from the leakage can be compensated by reducing the ventilation by means of the ventilation device. This can take place under different operating conditions and wear states of the rail vehicle over the entire life cycle.

According to one embodiment of the device according to the invention, the control device comprises an input channel for introducing a diagnostic signal for indicating the open and/or closed state of an external door and/or a window of the rail vehicle. By the provision of such a diagnostic signal, measuring the internal pressure in the rail vehicle can take place if it is ensured that the external doors and/or windows of the rail vehicle are closed and no internal pressure can emanate via said openings. This enables incorrect measurements of the internal pressure in the rail vehicle to be avoided in an advantageous manner. Corresponding erroneous measurements could cause too low an internal pressure to be determined and the control device to close the ventilation devices in order to increase the internal pressure built up by means of the aeration device to the intended value, e.g. between 20 Pa and 50 Pa. If the external doors and/or windows are closed, this would raise the internal pressure above the intended value, which could especially impair the closing function of the external doors.

For the purposes of the invention, an aeration device is to be understood e.g. to mean an air conditioning system of the rail vehicle that induces external air, processes said air and introduces it into the interior of the rail vehicle. An overpressure is built up in the interior of the rail vehicle by means of said introduction.

For the purposes of the invention, a ventilation device is to be understood e.g. to mean an external valve, a ventilation flap or a fan (ventilator).

For the purposes of the invention, a measuring device for measuring the internal pressure in the rail vehicle is to be understood e.g. to mean a pressure sensor or a manometer.

According to another embodiment of the device according to the invention, the measuring device determines the internal pressure in the rail vehicle at the train and/or carriage level. Both when determining the internal pressure at the train level and when determining the internal pressure at the carriage level, it can be provided according to the invention that a plurality of measurement devices disposed in a distributed manner in the train or carriage are used for determining the internal pressure in the rail vehicle. Hereby it can be provided that the internal pressure values determined by the individual measurement devices are combined to form an average internal pressure measurement value. It can also be provided that determining the internal pressure takes place section by section within the rail vehicle.

Regarding the arrangement of the ventilation device, it can preferably be provided in one embodiment of the invention that the ventilation device is disposed such that the occurrence of air flows adversely affecting passenger comfort within the areas of the rail vehicle used by passengers is prevented. For this purpose it can e.g. be provided that the ventilation devices are disposed in the ceiling region and/or in the floor region of the rail vehicle. In another embodiment of the invention it is provided that a plurality of ventilation devices are provided in the rail vehicle, which are disposed in a distributed manner such that air flows adversely affecting passenger comfort are prevented or at least reduced.

Regarding the method, the object of the invention is achieved by a method for active pressure regulation of the internal pressure in a rail vehicle that comprises the process steps:

increasing the internal pressure within the rail vehicle by means of an aeration device;

measuring the internal pressure within at least one sub-area of the rail vehicle by means of a measuring device;

adjusting the internal pressure within the rail vehicle by means of a ventilation device controlled by means of a control device, wherein the control device controls the ventilation device depending on the internal pressure determined by the measurement device provided that a specified internal pressure is built up within the rail vehicle.

In one embodiment of the method according to the invention, the control of the ventilation device takes place within the scope of the climate control of the rail vehicle. For this purpose it can especially be provided that the control device is integrated within the climate control device. This enables the aeration device and the ventilation device to take account of each other, so that in addition to an increase of the quantity of air discharged from the rail vehicle by means of the ventilation device, the air quantity delivered to the interior of the rail vehicle by means of the aeration system is reduced.

According to another embodiment of the method according to the invention, the ventilation device comprises an external valve, a ventilation flap and/or a fan (ventilator) and the regulation of the internal pressure takes place by opening or closing the external valve and/or the aeration flap and/or by means of regulating the revolution rate of the fan.

According to another embodiment of the invention the determination of the internal pressure only takes place while the external doors and/or windows of the rail vehicle are closed and in the stationary state, i.e. when the rail vehicle is stationary. For this purpose it can especially be provided that the state of the doors and/or windows of the rail vehicle is polled by the control device. Such polling can e.g. be carried out by means of door and/or window sensors. In particular with regard to the operating state of the external doors, however, it can also be provided that status information can be called up from the train control system of the rail vehicle and taken into account. It is ensured that the internal pressure is only analyzed in the stationary state by means of the speed of travel signal in the train control system.

In another embodiment of the method according to the invention, it can be provided that measuring the internal pressure is not carried out continuously during the entire driving operation, but at intervals, e.g. at intervals of minutes, hours, days or months. In particular, it can be provided that measuring the internal pressure is only performed within the framework of the service intervals of the rail vehicle, e.g. in the fall or in the spring, and adjustment of the ventilation power to the aeration power occurs during the corresponding inspection.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained below in detail below using a FIGURE. In the FIGURE:

FIG. 1 shows the schematic structure of a device for active pressure regulation in a rail vehicle.

FIG. 1 shows the schematic structure of a device for active pressure regulation in a rail vehicle 900. The rail vehicle comprises an aeration device 120, which can be formed e.g. by an air conditioning system. The aeration system 120 delivers external air to the interior of the rail vehicle 900, whereby an overpressure builds up within the rail vehicle 900 compared to the ambient pressure outside the rail vehicle 900. A diagnostic signal 210 passes to a control device 200, which signals the open or closed state of the external doors 910 and/or windows 920 of the rail vehicle 900. A measurement signal representing the internal pressure in the rail vehicle 900 that is determined by means of the measurement device 160 passes to the control device 200 by means of the measurement value line 215. With the external doors 910 and windows 920 closed the control device 200 analyzes the signal of the measuring device 160. If the resulting value of the internal pressure in the rail vehicle relative to the ambient pressure lies above a threshold value that can be specified of e.g. 50 Pa, the control device 200 activates via control lines 212, 213, 214 a ventilation device 141, 142, 143 by means of which the internal pressure can be regulated according to the specified threshold value. This enables e.g. an external valve 141, a ventilation flap 142, a fan (ventilator) 143, or a combination of said ventilation devices to be disposed in the rail vehicle as a ventilation device. Preferably, the ventilation devices 141, 142, 143 are thereby disposed such that the internal pressure escaping from the rail vehicle via said devices does not cause air flows within the areas of the rail vehicle used by passengers that adversely affect passenger comfort. In one embodiment of the device according to the invention, it can be provided that the control device 200 sends control signals to the aeration device 120 via a control line 211 in order to also regulate the aeration device 120 depending on the determined internal pressure in the rail vehicle 900. The functions of the aeration device 120 and of the ventilation devices 141, 142, 143 can thus be adapted with respect to each other. 

1-10. (canceled)
 11. A device for active regulation of an internal vehicle pressure in a rail vehicle, the device comprising: an aeration device configured to increase the internal pressure in the rail vehicle; a ventilation device configured to reduce the internal pressure in the rail vehicle; a measuring device configured to measure the internal pressure in the rail vehicle; and a control device connected for signaling at least to said ventilation device and to said measuring device, said control device configured to control said ventilation device in dependence on the internal pressure determined by said measuring device.
 12. The device according to claim 11, wherein said control device has an input channel for introducing a diagnostic signal indicating at least one of an open or closed state of at least one of an external door or a window of the rail vehicle.
 13. The device according to claim 11, wherein said measuring device is configured to determine the internal pressure in the rail vehicle at least at one of a train level or a car level.
 14. The device according to claim 11, wherein said ventilation device includes at least one of an external valve, a ventilation flap or a fan.
 15. A method for active pressure regulation of an internal pressure in a rail vehicle, the method comprising the following steps: increasing the internal pressure within the rail vehicle by using an aeration device; measuring the internal pressure within at least one sub-area of the rail vehicle by using a measuring device; adjusting the internal pressure within the rail vehicle by using a ventilation device; and controlling the ventilation device with a control device in dependence on the internal pressure determined by the measuring device as required if a specified internal pressure has built up within the rail vehicle.
 16. The method according to claim 15, which further comprises controlling the ventilation device within a climate control of the rail vehicle.
 17. The method according to claim 15, which further comprises: provided the ventilation device with at least one of an external valve, a ventilation flap or a fan; and carrying out a regulation of the internal pressure by opening or closing at least one of the external valve or the aeration flap or regulating a speed of the fan.
 18. The method according to claim 15, which further comprises carrying out the step of measuring the internal pressure only with external doors and windows of the rail vehicle closed.
 19. The method according to claim 15, which further comprises carrying out the step of measuring the internal pressure within the rail vehicle while carrying out at least one of passenger operations or an inspection of the rail vehicle.
 20. The method according to claim 15, which further comprises carrying out the step of measuring the internal pressure at least at one of a train level or a car level. 